Reuters: Ukraine may allow the export of Russian ammonia under one condition

Kyiv can allow the transit of Russian ammonia through Ukraine under the condition of expanding the "grain agreement" — more Ukrainian ports and a wider range of goods should be added to it.

This is reported by the Reuters agency with reference to anonymous sources in the Ukrainian government.

Russia insists on resuming the supply of ammonia through the pipeline from Russiaʼs Tolyatti to the Black Sea port "Pivdenniy", which is designed to pump up to 2.5 million tons of ammonia per year. The United Nations supports the resumption of ammonia pipeline supplies. The UN believes that this should help global food security.

On May 17, the "Grain Agreement" was extended for another two months. The Reuters interlocutor noted that her text did not mention the Tolyati-Odesa ammonia pipeline and transit. For this, an additional agreement will be required, and Ukraine will make demands.

"We say the following — if it [the agreement] includes ammonia pipeline, then Ukraine should get additional things that will serve our national interests. That is, the expansion of the geography of the agreement and the list of goods [for export through the corridor]. Then it could serve the interests of our country," the source said. It was not specified what additional goods Ukraine would like to include.

• Before the start of the war in Ukraine, Russia exported 4.4 million tons of ammonia per year, which is 20% of world trade by sea transport.
• The United Nations proposed to resume the export of Russian ammonia through a pipeline to the Ukrainian border, where it is to be bought by the American commodity trader Trammo.
• On September 16, 2022, the President of Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelenskyi, said that he would support the resumption of Russian ammonia exports through Ukraine if Moscow returned Ukrainian prisoners of war to Kyiv. "I am against the supply of ammonia from the Russian Federation through our territory. I would do it only in exchange for our prisoners. This is what I proposed to the UN," the president said.
• According to Reuters, in November of last year, representatives of Russia and Ukraine met in the United Arab Emirates to discuss the possibility of exchanging prisoners of war and resuming the export of Russian ammonia through the Ukrainian pipeline.